Tag Archives: Game

All that talking about Jenrry Mejia needing minor league experience is probably going to wind up as lip service because the reports are he’s more than even money to go north.

In what role, the Mets won’t say, but Jerry Manuel said the eighth-inning role “will be by committee,’’ a situation that always works.

What the decision to bring Mejia up now is really one made out of desperation by men, who in order to survive in their jobs, have to be shortsighted. If the Mets don’t win out of the gate, Manuel will be gone and he’s banking on Mejia’s rocket arm to suddenly find command and maturity.

But, at the same time, Manuel is saying he doesn’t have faith in Mejia in certain circumstances.

If Mejia needs to be saved from pressure situations such as the eighth inning, then what would he be doing on the roster in the first place? We all know the outcome of a game could be decided in the sixth or seventh innings. (And, with the Mets starters it could happen anywhere in the first five.)

I’m not sure whether Mejia should be a starter or reliever, but whatever it is, they should make a decision and stick with it.

Apparently, the Mets are currently thinking bullpen, which is fine. If that is the case, then he should be here the entire season learning from Francisco Rodriguez. Give him one relief role and stick with it.

I don’t want to see him here in the pen, then sent back down to the minors to start, then come back at the end of the year and go back in the pen. If Mejia is as good as they say, he’ll adjust. But, waffling between roles can only deter his progress.

That the Mets are even considering Mejia for the pen right now is a clear sign they have little faith in who they have right now. Their priority in this case is to compete now and worry about the future later.

As compelling as the underdog story is, there’s a reason for why he is. Just as Cornell lost last night to Kentucky because of depth of talent, that is also the limitation of Nelson Figueroa’s feel-good story.

There’s a reason why Figueroa has bounced around all these years: His talent it that of the sixth man in a five-man rotation. Every once in awhile he shows a glimmer, but overall the more he pitches the more his flaws are exposed.

Figueroa pitches today not so much as an effort to get Jerry Manuel to change his mind about the fifth spot in the rotation but as he does to audition for somebody else.

Figueroa, 35, who refers as himself as an “insurance policy,’’ has been around long enough to know the score.

“I’m in a position where I’m going out there and throwing for 29 other teams right now,’’ Figueroa said. “Being the insurance policy has its benefits. But at the same time, it’s a frustrating situation. I feel like if I’m given the opportunity to be more than that, I can be.’’

But, it won’t happen with the Mets because there’s always a faster gun, somebody who is younger, who throws harder, who is more a natural.

Actually, Figueroa got an extended look last year because of the Mets’ decimated rotation and went 3-8 with a 4.09 ERA. That included losing five consecutive decisions in September,

Figueroa’s heart, grit and determination is the essence of what sport should be, but it isn’t the reality in today’s game, which is driven by the need to win immediately. Maybe in a town with less pressure, Figueroa might get a chance.

But it would be the same story with the Mets, him passing through waivers, going back to Triple-A Buffalo, and waiting for the call generated by the inevitable injury or calamity in the rotation.

Still, pitching minor league baseball for what Figueroa would make is a better job than most of us will have, earning him $119,500 if he spends the full season in the minors.

Daniel Murphy has not had a good spring, but Ike Davis has been sizzling non-stop. Makes me think that if Murphy’s troubles continue Davis could be with the team earlier than expected.

By all accounts, Davis has the chance to be a special player and the timetable for him is next year. The plans for Murphy appear to be a position switch to second base.

Davis hit a game-tying homer yesterday, his third of the spring. It’s too soon to say Davis, despite hitting .500, is ready to start the season with the Mets. After all, his window has only been 24 at-bats. Davis will start today against the Astros’ Roy Oswalt in Kissimmee.

But next season, along with Jenrry Mejia and Fernando Martinez, the Mets have the potential for an outstanding young core.

FIFTH STARTER AUDITIONS CONTINUE: Nelson Figueroa will start today’s exhibition against the University of Michigan, followed by Fernando Nieve and Hisanori Takahashi, all up for the fifth-starter role.

Another fifth-starter candidate, Jon Niese, will start in the split-squad game vs. Houston.

ESCOBAR TO THROW: Kelvim Escobar, who has been shut down this spring with shoulder soreness, said he hopes to begin throwing tomorrow. But, that’s just him talking and it hasn’t been confirmed by the Mets.

Even if Escobar is cleared to throw, there’s no way he could catch up in time for the start of the season. The best guess would be early May.

Escobar was acquired with the idea of being the set-up reliever for Francisco Rodriguez. Right now that’s still an unanswered questions.

NOTES: Reliever Sean Green has a blister on his right big toe (push off leg) and is day-to-day. … It appears lefty reliever Joe Beimel won’t sign with the Mets. His agent, Joe Sroba, told The Post he’s been getting mixed signals from the Mets. What a surprise.

With most managers, at least those with security, their objectives are a balance between winning today and building for the future. That can’t be said for the Mets’ Jerry Manuel, who has joked about the importance of a fast start for the preservation of his job.

There’s truth in humor.

Manuel presided over the late season collapse of 2008 and full season free fall of 2009, and knows the Mets must contend, if not get to the playoffs and win a round, if he’s to return next year. Manuel’s job is on the line, and with it there’s a sense of urgency of being competitive immediately.

Given that, it stands to reason Manuel’s decisions, like that of choosing his fifth starter, will be to give him the best chance of winning now as opposing for building for the future, because quite simply, he has no guarantee of a future.

Manuel’s comments the other day that he’d like to see Hisanori Takahashi start a game this spring suggests strongly he’s being seriously considered for the fifth starter role. Takahashi has been superb in six scoreless innings, giving up two hits and striking out nine.

“What we have seen so far is he really has the ability to pitch and pitch with all his pitches,” Manuel said. “He probably is our sharpest pitcher right now, as far as everything hitting where he wants it to hit.”

If not Takahashi, then perhaps Fernando Nieve. Nelson Figueroa will be sent out to clear waivers, and Jon Niese, who went into spring training the favorite, will be sent out because he has options remaining.

Niese might be the fifth starter down the road, but Manuel doesn’t have the luxury of letting him learn on the job. As long as Takahashi is getting batters out, the Mets have a chance to win, and that means Manuel has a better chance to stick around.

Mets shortstop Jose Reyes was scratched from today’s game and will return to New York for tests after it was detected in Thursday’s bloodwork that he could have a thyroid imbalance.

Reyes will be tested through Monday and won’t play until at least Wednesday.

Reyes said he doesn’t feel any differently.

“I don’t know what’s going on, this is the first time I’ve ever had something like this,” Reyes said. “I have to be worried. I can’t do anything.” Reyes also said this issue has nothing to do with his hamstring issues.